filkertom: (Default)
filkertom ([personal profile] filkertom) wrote2009-07-30 03:52 pm
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Oddball Kids' Movies

Only a few miles away from me, on Huron Street in Ypsi, is a reasonably new Kroger. I wanted to see if it was as nice as the one on Maple Road, where I have been shopping for a number of years. (The one on Carpenter, technically closest to my new address, and the one up on North Campus are big and clean and have maybe 60% of the stuff at the Maple Road one. The ones at Georgetown and on South Industrial... the less said, the better.)

Not bad. The produce section is huge, and very well organized. The butcher shop and deli seem decent. No Chippery or Boston Market. Very good pharmacy and magazine sections, much larger than any other Kroger in town. One cheapie DVD rack.

And on that rack was a movie I've been meaning to get for years: The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.

Live-action musical adventure, starring Tommy ("Timmy and Lassie") Rettig as Bart, a kid who dreams of a tyrannical piano teacher, Dr. Terwilliker (Hans Conried in fine form), determined to prove his "Happy Fingers" method is the ultimate way to learn piano. Bizarre, goofy flick -- one of those that you have to show people to prove it exists.

Did I mention that the story, screenplay, and lyrics are by Dr. Seuss?

What are some of your favorite non-standard kids' films? Things like The Phantom Tollbooth would count here -- most of us in fandom know about it, but it's not a "recognized classic" like Mary Poppins or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or The Wizard of Oz. Oh, and, just to make it more interesting, try to keep away from fully-animated films. As an example, Mary Poppins is only partially animated.

ETA: Oh, let fly on the animateds. Heck, my freakin' example, The Phantom Tollbooth, is about 90% animated.

ETA2: As long as I'm thinking of it, the animated Snow Queen -- the one shown in the U.S. with the live-action intro by Art Linkletter.
per_solo: (Default)

[personal profile] per_solo 2009-07-30 09:25 pm (UTC)(link)
I saw Watership Down when I was 8...I still, to this day, love it..but am not sure it should be a "kids" film. :-)

Bedknobs and Broomsticks...Who Framed Roger Rabbit (saw when a teenager...then immediately had to read the book..which was different), The Water Babies...and...hmm...those are the ones that come first to mind.

[identity profile] filkertom.livejournal.com 2009-07-30 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Who Censored Roger Rabbit? is a pretty tame (almost lame, honestly) mystery novel with one brilliant premise, the one that carried over to the movie. I understand there are sequels out there; never been moved to read them. But the movie? An absolute classic.
per_solo: (Default)

[personal profile] per_solo 2009-07-30 09:38 pm (UTC)(link)
*nods* I liked the mystery aspect of the novel, when I read it. I've not had the heart to read it since, and will instead put the movie in...I still get a warm feeling in my heart when I first hear that opening chord to the movie.

I need to go looking for the animated Roger Rabbit shorts...and I think I remember reading about a proposed sequel that never came to be.